Hofstra freshman Shante Evans showing why she is among CAA women's basketball elite

Picture Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
Hofstra women’s basketball freshman forward Shante Evans is having a smash rookie season leading the Pride in both scoring (13.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.9 a game), and in normal circumstances would be a slam dunk for Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rookie of the year. However Evans happens to be a freshman the same season as Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, who had previously committed to national powerhouse Connecticut as the number one-rated recruit in the nation, and in her first season with the Blue Hens is averaging 25.8 points a game.

While winning CAA rookie of the year is unlikely for Evans given how dominant a force Delle Donne has been in Newark, Del., what is certain is that the 6’0 forward from West Chester, Pa. is one of the the biggest recruits ever landed by the Hofstra women’s basketball program. She was ranked the 54th best player in the class of 2009 as well as the ninth best forward by ESPN/HoopGurlz, and has been living up the hype so far in her short Hofstra career. Following a 28-point performance in a 73-58 win over UNC-Wilmington on Super Bowl Sunday, longtime Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Mel Greenberg wrote about how Evans has made an immediate impact on the Hofstra program in her freshman season.

“She definitely could be one of the best players to put on a Hofstra uniform for sure,” said Pride women’s basketball head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey during  last week's CAA Coaches Teleconference. “We haven’t even touched what her ability is going to be by the time she gets out of here.”

Thanks in large part to the stellar freshman play of Evans, Hofstra has won four of six and is within striking distance of finishing in the conference’s top four, which would allow for a first round bye at next month’s CAA Tournament. For the next three plus years while Evans is in a Hofstra uniform, the Pride should be in prime position to make a run at the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance.